Serving Clients for Over 25 Years
Ed Tiffey is one of few lawyers in the country to clerk for a federal district court judge, prosecute a first-degree murder case successfully, and serve as legal counsel to a sitting governor, all before the age of 35.
Ed has served as a trusted legal advisor for over 25 years. A native of Washington, D.C., he is a graduate of Gonzaga High School in the nation’s capital, Dickinson College, and the Washington and Lee University School of Law. Upon graduating from W&L, Ed assumed his first trusted legal advisor role as Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge Elizabeth V. Hallanan in the Southern District of West Virginia, where he assisted in a host of trials and judicial decisions of significant importance from 1990 to 1992.
After his clerkship, Ed entered private practice in 1992 and represented individuals and businesses in a variety of litigation matters. Along the way he served successfully as a special prosecutor in a first-degree murder case in Greenbrier County, and as liaison counsel to physicians in West Virginia’s Diet Drug Litigation.
At the end of 1998, Ed accepted an invitation to serve as General Counsel to Governor Cecil H. Underwood. This once in a legal career experience brought him to advise West Virginia’s chief executive, and serve as a liaison to the state legislature, congressional representatives, state and federal agencies, trade associations and the private sector. During his tenure, Ed worked within an ever fluid triangle of law, public policy, and politics with civility and integrity.
Following two years as Counsel to the Governor, Ed opened his own law practice on Capitol Street in June 2001. He serves as a trusted legal advisor to every client, whether an individual or a business, in which he calls on his years of significant legal experience to provide high level representation and client service. Accessible and responsive, Ed is able to represent clients before all three branches of government, and is a trusted confidant to many.
While away from his law practice, Ed is a proud family man and active in our community. He has given his time and talents on various boards and commissions, and remains active in youth sports as a coach and volunteer. Ed is the voice of the George Washington High School Boys Soccer and Boys Lacrosse teams, and an active member of Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, Charleston Tennis Club, the Charleston YMCA and Cosmos. A father of four, married to a Registered Nurse, he calls Charleston home and delights in all of the seasons of life and nature living in the mountain state with his family and friends.
Influences
The Honorable Elizabeth V. Hallanan
Judge Elizabeth V. Hallanan served with distinction as the first female state court judge in West Virginia (1959-1961), and later as the first female federal court judge in West Virginia. She began her service as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of West Virginia in November 1983, assumed senior status in December 1996, and served until her passing in June 2004. Judge Hallanan presided over a variety of high profile cases during her tenure, including ones concerning school prayer, prisons, child support enforcement, criminal prosecution under the Clean Water Act, and federal agency misconduct.
Governor Cecil H. Underwood
Cecil H. Underwood served as the 25th and 32nd Governor of West Virginia from 1957 until 1961 and from 1997 until 2001. A teacher, farmer, and state legislator, he was both the youngest and oldest person ever to serve as Governor of West Virginia. Among his many accomplishments, Governor Underwood served as co-chairman for the Appalachian Regional Commission in 2000. His notable appointments included Elizabeth V. Hallanan as Kanawha County Juvenile Court Judge in 1959.
